Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2013

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim took inspiration from Asian temples — Indian, Nepalese and Chinese — for their fall collection for Kenzo.  The theme included opulent fabrics flush with metallic, such as gold jacquard and flocked lamé that looked like crocodile. They decorated outfits with a cool but cheesy eye motif, shown head-to-toe on a tailored jacket, skinny pants and open-toe booties.
Tjhere was a lot of decoration, but the clothes were kept quiet. They were cut with vaguely Asian references —  robe coats; short, precision-wrap skirts, and shirts with crisp, wide short sleeves — worked in understandable silhouettes that are very contemporary.

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Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2013

No firework at Viktor & Rolf, but a strong collection full with clothes that were accessible for a lot of women. With beautiful legs, that is. Since the biggest part of the fall collection was leaning on short skirts and dresses. It looked young and fresh, almost as if a young girl tried to modify her clothes herself by cutting and ripping it and putting it together again with lace inserts and embroideries. It was a mix of bouncy sportswear, serious power-dressing and modern sculptured silhouettes. The designers sticked to a black-and-white palette and occasionally injected a subtle Sixties London vibe.  Fanciful touches came via overstated bows, from a giant one on the neckline of a white shirt to another on the shoulder of a gown.

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First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Craft Allure

At first glance serious, plain tailoring reigned the runway offering this season. At second glance it was an ode to artisan-ship. Escaping the rat race to show the it-silhouette,most designers want to be true to themselves. They move back tot where they started and want to show the value of tailoring and fashion. Genuine emotion was fueled into collections where some felt like pure poetry. From rebellious expressiveness, energetic artisan-ship, to inventive and refreshing embellishment. Primal and tribal intensity to cheeky freedom and fun.

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Maison Martin Margiela’s line-up looked like a fresh start, showing expressive crafts carefully embedded in Margiela’s masterful tailoring principles. Dior fused casual flair into a very couture collection by adding a series of chunky craft knits, Dries van Noten was inspired by ballroom dancing and scattered crystals, feathers and flapper fringes. Rick Owens showed rare, but very effective decorative touches that seemed like experimental exercises to explore the ancient crafts of basket weaving.

How crafts add couture allure.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

Maison Martin Margiela Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris FW2013

Since Martin himself is no longer on board Maison Martin Margiela has been rediscovering itself. Today’s collection was proof of that as it was not the most coherent line up. Yet the fashion house did present some strong designs that proudly carried the name of the French fashion label. Oversize and menswear seemed to be the red line in the show the houses described as a “rally” in the show notes. Overall, suits, pinstripe waistcoats (and quite a few other ones – patent leather and fur – too). Black and white looks were given a hand painted yellow or pink twist as more color followed on patent orange and red leather and strangely crafted, multicolored mesh tops. The finale of floor sweeping panel dresses that seemed to have some kind of ad texts on them appeared to be a whole other chapter of the Margiela fall collection.

 

 

 

Yohji Yamamoto Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris FW2013

Yamamoto’s collection on Friday included some of his best ideas and creations put in a new mix fit of clothing for 2013. The designer used eighties different small themes for this show. We spotted workwear, Asian inspiration (kimono sleeves, origami details), arty influences. Lots of black and asymmetry, liked you’d expect. Yet blues, browns touches of orange, blue and purple (as a surprising bright part in the middle of the show) kept the show very much alive. “My role is to get the value of clothing back for everyone: cutting, draping, tailoring. There was no real theme to the collection, I just wanted to make dresses, to tailor and enjoy the value of clothing”, Yamamoto said backstage. And as he felt it was his duty to bring back the value of clothing (that has according to him been gone for a while) he collection may not have originated from a positive point, the overall mood was cheerful. Beautifully crafted creation, perfectly fitting the models’ bodies. No time to look back, the future is bright (orange, blue and purple shaded, that is).

 

Haider Ackermann Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2013

It’s always such a pleasure to see a show of Haider Ackermann. It’s almost like meditation: the slow pace of the models, the sensibility of the clothes, the pureness. Again, Ackermanns guide to his fall-collection was the thin line between strength and fragility.  Tailoring played a major role as did quiet tones of gray, black and white, green. Some of the tailoring was oversized, with full-legged pants and droopy sleeves almost to the knees. The model looked as if they were dressed in their lovers’ clothes. There we also sharper pieces with strong shoulders and defined waists, like the houndstooth military jacket with the collar torn off and the seams left raw, or another jacket in  brown with purple velvet lining its ruffled peplum.

Fur was new at Ackermann, but he used it well. His shearling flight jackets and his collarless beaver-fur coats looked beautifiul.

Christian Dior Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2013

In his second ready to wear-collection for the house of Christian Dior Raf Simons brought art and Dior closer together. You could see it on the clothes with Andy Warhol’s early, sensitive drawings as a recurring graphic. Warhol also echoed in the silvered spheres suspended in the room and the Laurie Anderson soundtrack reflected the right mood. But also Dior and Simons got closer: the Bar jacket was paired with baggy pants in a navy or black denim wool.
The message seemed to be about control. Just look at the way the classic “lady” silhouettes—bustier, full-skirted—were translated into black leather, or the Dior houndstooth was transmogrified into a sexy little bustier with a wrapped silk dress. They’ll likely be the ambassadors for the new Dior.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris FW2013

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were the style-icons Dries van Noten referred to while explaining his collection. For fall 2013 he plays with masculinity and femininity, something he enjoyed in former collections too. That play is a subtle thread through the whole season, Instead of fur Van Noten pleayed with feathers. He mixed mannish white shirts with a navy skirt over gray flannel pants, That sounds rayther boring, but the effect was in the details: a necklet of paste diamonds, a skirt with a trail of ostrich-plumes anchored by crystal. There wwere also chunky knits, cable sweaters, varsity-stripe skirts, brocade skirts and plus-zize overcoats – all looking glamorous.  There was also a sexy vibe, not in your face-sexy but subtle.

 

Giorgio Armani Catwalk fashion Show Milan Womenswear Fw2013

Please enjoy the pictures for now. Our review will follow shortly.

First View Milan Womenswear FW2013: Cool Wool

It seems designers are expecting severe temperature reduction by introducing all Glacial Age-proof wardrobes. Especially since these cover the tailored city wardrobes and not performance outdoor gear. Coats seem the main subject of interest this season as well as woolen skirts suits and plaid shifts. And not in featherweight seasonless qualities but in chunky textured versions. ‘Wool is cool!’ definitely seems to be the credo this season. In bespoke luxurious plains as well as washed, bonded and felted versions. Prints, tweeds, color-wovens, plaids, marls, and some with coated and embellished finishings. All showing extreme elegance and a touch of nostalgia and romance.  Wool is ideal to play with proportions and volumes, it can drape as well as shape. On the surface it can shows chameleonesque qualities, and can be sculpted in any volume or proportion. Ideal for the minute excises in tailoring that most designers are into.

Sportmax goes for tactility and textures in marled tweeds. Bottega Veneta curves with precision and sensual elegance. Prada adds a hint of sex to a seemingly very un-sexy material. Where Jil Sander conveys proofs of serious craftsmanship in bespoke tailored silhouettes.

Wool warms fashion hearts as well as bodies.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam.

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